


Once upon a dream

by emotionalsupporthufflepuff



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Voldemort Wins, Cinderella Elements, Cliffhangers, Death Eater Draco Malfoy, F/M, Greengrass sisters are evil sorry, Sleeping Beauty Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-17 03:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20614064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emotionalsupporthufflepuff/pseuds/emotionalsupporthufflepuff
Summary: Hermione Granger has dreams of the past while her days are spent in a waking nightmare. Until one day there arrives an inventation to a ball.





	Once upon a dream

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompted write for " Harry Potter/ Disney fairytale crossover" In Hedwig's nook The Dark Mark facebook group. The primary fairytale is Cinderella but there are Sleeping Beauty elements to it, which is why I went with the title I did. The cover of "Once upon a dream" by Lana del Ray gave me the plot idea. 
> 
> I own nothing, most of the credit goes to J.K.R and whatever's left is probably owned by Disney.

She had the same dream every night, the memories would play in clipped silent sequences at first. The Great Hall with its enchanted ceiling and an older witch holding a brown and tattered hat. The fear as she mounted a broom for the first time. The glow of pride after winning points upon points. Watching Quidditch players zoom past her. A troll swinging its club wildly. Flying on a hippogriff with her arms wrapped tight around Harry. Dancing with a handsome stranger at a ball with snow covering the ground. A room filled with glowing patronuses and her friends' happy smiling faces. 

Then after that, they got darker, the sound came back and it was much more frightening. The sound of thousands of glass prophecies smashing together. Waking up with a scar across her abdomen. Fighting with Ron. Fighting with Harry. Regulus’s locket. Running through the woods full tilt as the boys screamed for her to go. A pair of arms clad in all black pulling her up. A blurry masked face saying “Shit you’re bleeding.” Distorted outlines of a grey room and a cot. Someone stroking her hair and saying “One day, when this nightmare is over Granger.”

Then nothing. She was captured by snatchers and when she was intterogated she couldn’t remember any, not her name, not her age or if she had been to school or why she was in the woods. She sold to the Greengrass family as a Mudblood servent. When they asked her what her name was she couldn’t remember so they called her “Cinderella” remembering vague details of a muggle fairytale in which a servant girl served two beautiful princesses. She tried to argue with them that wasn’t how the story went but was punished for speaking out of turn.

But mostly she was referred to as “Mudblood.” 

The war was over. Harry Potter was dead and The Dark Lord had ruled Great Britain for years. 

Eventually, she said her name was Hermione Granger and they said that was wrong. Hermione Granger was rebel and traitor to the Dark Lord and had perished in the take over years ago, and that she must have just read it in the newspaper and thought it was her name.

She didn’t try to argue that time. It wasn’t worth it. They wouldn’t treat her better any better as Hermione anyway.

She awoke from the same dream she always had, rolled off her lumpy mattress and threw on her gray shift dress. Grabbing her wand from the night table, she summoned her simple brown shoes so she wouldn’t have to walk across the cold stone floor and made her way up to the kitchen from the cellar where she slept. 

Every morning she ate an apple as she started her chores with the house-elves. Something about the tartness of the green apple nagged at her memory but whatever it was, remained hidden but it was comforting to think one day these things might come to the surface. 

The post was delivered by owl and it was her job to sort it and deliver it to each recipient. Hermione finished her apple as she read the names on the envelopes to sort them.  _ The Daily Prophet and _ tea were to be delivered to Lady Greengrass first, then Daphne and Astoria mail delivered in turn. This morning the three of them had all received the same very formal looking invitations and even though she wasn’t supposed to, strictly speaking, she peaked at the front page of the  _ Prophet _ to see if the event was mentioned.

On the front page was a castle that screamed at her in its familiarity, but even after a long moment of staring at it, she supposed it was another something she just remembered reading about before. Two blonde figures were standing shoulder to shoulder, looking down there noses at the camera. These were the Malfoys she knew that they were in the paper and talked about constantly as the father, Lucius and the son Draco were very high ranking in the Dark Lord’s army. The mother and wife Narcissa had died some years ago, but she didn’t know how. 

Lucius was notorious for having a tentative grasp on his sanity at best. They often reported him killing without a second thought, even Purebloods. The other Death Eaters hardly kept him in check. Hermione guessed if something happened to Draco, he would raze all of England in his anger.

Daphne and Astoria Greengrass bickered constantly over who was going to marry Draco as if they were the only two available witches in Britain. Daphne accused Astoria of being loud and unrefined. Astoria challenged her sister to spell “unrefined” and gave a shrill laugh as Daphne’s cheeks turned scarlet. 

Hermione hovered the tea tray and paper behind her as she cracked open Lady Greengrass’s door, opened the heavy curtains, lit the fire ( by magic of course) and placed the tea tray on a table near a huge bay window.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” a cold voice called from the bed.

“Good morning, stepmother.” Hermione ground out, her back teeth crunching together as she did it. This was a tactic to remind her she belonged to them, but she was not of their blood. 

A screech carried down the hall and Lady Greengrass huffed, rubbing a knuckle at where here graying hair met her temple. “ Attend to that immediately. Dismissed. “

She ventured down the hall to the daughters' room, where it looked as though Astoria had broken down Daphne’s door and was rummaging through her clothes, and Daphne was screaming and throwing stinging hexes at her sister. Astoria screamed and threw hexes back and both girls we’re destroying everything in the process.

“Stepsisters, please stop fighting! “ Hermione addressed them as such only because she knew their mother was listening from down the hall. 

“Shut up Mudblood!” screamed Daphne

“ Ew look how dirty you are, just like the inside, right Mudblood?” Astoria cackled.

Hermione held up the invitations as peace offerings and both witches stopped firing hexes and rushed to snatched him out of her hands.

Astoria finished hers and snapped at her sister “ Need me to finish reading it for you?”

“Shut up Tori! “ Daphne answered finally tearing her eyes off the invitations. “ I have to get ready now. If Draco is having a ball for his birthday he must be looking for an eligible witch to marry!”

“Which would be me!” Astoria tossed the invitation to the ground and striding to Daphne’s closet. “ You’re too fat to wear this yellow dress, you look like a pad of butter, I’ll wear it this time.” Hermione moved about the room silently repairing things as they fought. 

“Fine. Wear an old dress. Mudblood will make me a brand new dress to wear tonight. I’m getting my hands on that family fortune if its the last thing I do, I’m not taking any chances on something old.” Daphne practically growled the last bit at Astoria.

“Mudblood! I want a new dress too!”

Bending down to pick the invitation off the floor, the words “every eligible witch “ caught her eye. If said nothing of financial status or blood which is these times was touted with the most importance. Hermione knew she didn’t stand a chance of marrying Draco nor did she want to, but it had been so long since she left the house, so long since she’d seen anything truly beautiful. The only music she heard was whatever snippets she caught while working, and food was often just stale bread, cheese and fruit she managed while working in the kitchen. 

A few hours later Hermione was looking at a stunning periwinkle gown on her mannequin in her cellar bedroom. It was enchanted to turn in place so she could watch the material swish gracefully in a circle and it shimmered even without light reflecting on it. 

She had a plan. She would get dressed and at the last minute run out to the therstal drawn carriage in her beautiful new dress with her hair tamed with some Sleekeazy’s she snuck from the bathroom upstairs and all the glamors she could manage in time. The sisters were dense but Lady Greengrass would never cause an embarrassing scene to have it reported back to the Malfoys. She would get to go and have one night of beauty in her otherwise cold and gray life.

She made two other brand new dresses for Daphne and Astoria but they were not nearly as stunning but hopefully, they would appease them long enough for her to work her plan. Draping them carefully over her arm she made to head up there stairs when she heard two pairs of clumsy feet pounding down them.

“Aren’t you done yet Mudblood?!”

“I want to see what you have you know green makes me look ill!” 

Astoria and Daphne were scrambling down to the bottom of her stairs before she could stop them. Hermione tried to block their view of her dress but as they were still stairs above her she knew it would be impossible. Sure enough, though Daphne was preoccupied with what she had in her arms, Astoria gasped and pointed to Hermione's periwinkle dress, jabbing Daphne sharply with her elbow. 

“What is that Mudblood?” Astoria hissed, not able to tear her eyes away from the twirling gown. 

“I think- “ started Daphne 

“Oh, that’s dangerous-”

“ I think Mudblood thinks she's going to the ball.” Daphne continued.” Don’t you, you disgusting magic stealer?!” 

“The invitation said every eligible witch! It didn’t say anything about wealth or blood status.” Hermione argued shrilly. The sisters cackled together.

“Mudblood thinks shes going to marry Draco.”

“As if he’d ever even look at her. “ 

“  _ Crucio.”  _ Hermione never even saw which sister cast it. Her nerve endings lit up with white-hot pain. She crumpled to the stone floor, hitting her head hard with an echoing  _ thunk. _

_ “ Incendio”  _ Her gown went up in flames and crumbled to ash on the floor next to her. The light faded to black as cackling resounded off the cellar walls and Hermione's tears rolled down her cheeks. 

When she opened her eyes again, the daylight was no longer creeping in from the small windows in the cellar but a weak moonlight. Her head throbbed painfully, as the clicking of high heels hit the floor and Hermione tried to hide in the shadows, fearing more punishment. 

“Oh don’t do that child, I’m here to help.” It was a voice Hermione had heard before, but once again had no idea where.

A blonde woman in black calf-length robes and extremely tall high heels clutched her wand in two hands and looked Hermione over with a stone-cold gaze. 

“Are you a ghost?” Hermione whispered.

“A memory and someone, someone I love more than anything called me to help you tonight,” she answered. She pointed her wand at the ashes and they knit back together into the gown she’d lost.

“At least you have decent taste .” She sighed. “Let's see, stand up, her in the moonlight so I can see you properly. Hermione did as she was told, not fearing the memory. “ Oh yes.” she purred, her lips pressing into a small smile. “ I see it. Those eyes. Men would fight lesser wars for those eyes.” The memory flicked her wand and Hermione's hair tangled itself into a bun on her head and the layers of dirt scrubbed from her skin, even her fingernails were done.

In another brilliant flash of light, the periwinkle dress conformed itself to her body and fit so comfortably she could scarcely believe it was real. The memory pursed her lips again and twirled her wand in a manner that Hermione found eerily familiar. “ Shoes,” it mumbled and Hermione shook her head in fear at what this woman considered appropriate footwear. “ Oh don’t fear that's what the cushioning charm is for. “ She jabbed her wand and two glass slippers with golden lions scrolling up the side appeared on her feet. They were like wearing the warmest softest socks she could ever imagine.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. This is too much really. I don’t have a way to get to the ball.” Tears were sliding down Hermione's face again. “It’s really too bad.”

The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes in a way that made Hermione hear lurch in how close the memory rolled to the surface. She held out her arm and jerked her head to it. “Don’t have a way to get to the ball. Honestly, are you a witch or not?”

“But the apparition wards around the castle.” Hermione started.

“Please, you’re with me.” She laughed a tinkling laugh as Hermione took her arm and disappeared into the darkness. 

They reappeared at the base of a huge and ancient willow tree with no leaves that looked as if it was frozen in mid-swing at an invisible foe. The memory pointed to a knot at the base of the tree. “ Listen to me closely child, I don’t have much time left.” Even in the dim light Hermione could that she was, in fact, growing fainter, more ethereal than solid with less defined colors to her. “You need to be here, at this knot at midnight, do you understand? Any later and the spell will expire. This magic is extremely precise if your even a minute late it won’t work. You’ll have to find your way back to London and even the Greengrass sisters would notice you missing by then. You’re a clever girl, you understand, don’t you? You must not be late no matter what.”

Hermione nodded, dumbstruck by the information. The smell of food and the sound of music drifted down from the castle and she found her senses distracted but she wanted the memory to know she understood. “ Yes, midnight I can be here, even before midnight, just to be safe. Thank you, thank you so much. “

The memory smiled a genuine smile at her. “The nightmare is almost over Hermione, I promise. Have a wonderful time.” 

Hermione turned away towards the castle then turned back to ask “ How did you know my name?” But the memory was gone. 

Once inside the castle, Hermione was attacked by a thrill of terror that if the Greengrass sisters saw her they would recognize her. She caught her own reflection in a polished suit of armor by the opened front door and didn’t even know the girl staring back at her. Ever since she’d been brought to them she was covered in a layer of grime and unkemptness, her hair a riotous mess of curl and frizz, never tamed into submission. Now it was sleek and shiny, her face was clear and clean and she stood prouder and taller, without fear as she knew she once did. 

The entrance hall was bathed in the warm glow of enchanted candlelight. Multi-colored figures of mostly witches in flowing dresses swirled in waltzes and the smell of food seemed to emit from every stone in the walls. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the summer’s night sky above, clear and cloudless. She stood there for a few moments just to let her eyes adjust to the light. 

She eyed the staircases and something nagged at her to climb them and embed herself in the library and never come out, somehow she was sure she still even knew the way. Then a long table covered in glittering plates of food caught her eye. While she wasn't starved, it always just enough to keep her functioning, never full, never satisfied and never ever any chocolate. 

Covertly, she made her way through the crowd to the table, with an expression she hoped to read " bored arrogance " and not " ravenous wolf ". Picking up a finger sandwich, looking to either side of her, she stuffed in all her mouth, tasting fresh bread for the first time in memory. She repeated the action two more times and moved closer to the dessert end. She was halfway through the fattest chocolate covered strawberry on the tray when someone spoke behind her. 

"There you are. I can't believe I found you." Hermione gasped and partially choked on the strawberry and chocolate before turning around. 

It was Draco Malfoy, in midnight black formal robes, with black epaulettes and cape that looked to end halfway down his back. His grey eyes were alight with something she didn't quite understand.

It was strangely quiet and she realized everyone had stopped talking to see how she would react to the esteem Death Eater. With dismay, it dawned that she would have to act like a simpering idiot around him to not be suspicious. 

“What….what did you find, um, Lord Malfoy?" she choked out trying to finish the strawberry. She wasn't even sure if that was the proper title or just something the _ Prophet  _ called him. He smirked and she was relieved he wasn't offended at least. 

"I found the most beautiful girl at the ball. Please, dance with me. " He held out an arm. All in black. Her mind raced as more memories bubbled to the surface like a water fountain that it had been turned on full blast. The crowd laughed and clapped politely. 

Black robes stained with blood. Her blood. She was sobbing uncontrollably, she had been brave for so long, and now she was going to die for it. Too much it was all too much. She clung to someone and heard the words. “The nightmare is almost over.”

But no, she was standing in the middle of the dance area. She was alive and the dark robes in front of her were not stained they were immaculate. People were whispering to their neighbors or watching her there every movement. Her heart caught in her throat but the band struck up a chord and her muscles moved automatically. She knew how to dance like this, she had learned before. His arm wrapped around her and pulled her closer, a hand resting chastely at the small of her back. This close, she could smell him, his cologne and his natural scent.

_ Apples.  _ Like the green apples, she favored for breakfast every morning. In her mind, she heard a low chuckle, her own laughter, lips pressed against hers. Twitching involuntarily, Draco held her arms steady and compensated for her own missed step. His chest tightened but they finished the dance in silence. 

The audience clapped politely and witches started to crowd in on him lining up for the next dance. He made polite excuses to brush them all off but kept an iron tight grip on Hermione’s hand, half dragging her to a courtyard.

The warm summer’s air sobered her, ripping her from the half-formed memories that fogged her thought process. He weaved his way through the courtyard, through corridors, down a short flight of stairs until they were well away from everyone. Hermione's instinct was first to pull away from him, but then quickly realized if she caused a scene nothing better could come from that, than whatever Malfoy had intended for her. Where would she go? Who could she call for help?

But just like the dance, her feet knew the way. Her muscles knew she could trust him, so she tried to convince her brain of the same. 

“ _ Muffilato.”  _ He cast it at the empty rooms door and turned to her, cupping her face in both his hands. “ How much do you remember?” his face bore into her. She shook her head in confusion trying to pull away from him. “  _ Lelligemens:”  _ he whispered pointing his wand at her temple.

It wasn’t like the interrogation she had faced that was torture as a half-competent snatchers trampled through her mind like a belligerent drunk. This was like someone opening a jewelry box, where the contents were precious and fragile, slowly, gently, he went through her memories, examing each one. 

“How many memories have come back tonight Granger?” he said quietly as she blinked, her eyes readjusting to the dark classroom.

“A couple. How do you know my name?” she asked cautiously.

“I could never forget. “ He lowered one hand to his side but the other still wrapped around her cheek. “I can’t believe I found you. I knew you couldn’t stay out of trouble, gods somethings never change. “He smirked and ran a thumb over her cheek.

Something bristled in Hermione at those words, stepping out of her grasp. “I’ve been in the same place for years now and you didn’t find me then so you must have not been looking very hard. I don’t know who you are, or how you know my name, but I don’t think you care nearly as much as you say you do, Malfoy.” She expected him to recoil at her words, to curse her, strike her, throw her from the room in a temper tantrum.

He smirked instead, and his eyes were silver from trying not to laugh. “Yeah, it’s you. I couldn’t tell for a minute if I lost you or not. Granger, I didn’t even know if you were alive or sane until I saw you a few moments ago. I’ve been looking this whole time.”

“I don’t believe you.” she hissed, taking a short step back only to find a cold stone wall behind her. 

“Yes, you do.” He scooped up her chin in his hand again and pressed his lips to hers.

And suddenly, it all came back. All of it, every scar, every laugh, every ounce of pain and joy. In a white brilliant light behind her eyes, her memory filled in all the gaps and spaces she’d try to fill for so long. It all made sense. Everything fell in clear relief as if she were waking up from a long and deep sleep.

“Draco,” she whispered. “Draco, why did you obliviate me?” 

“They were coming for you, I was out of time to get you out and the less you knew, about us, the safer you were, the better chance you had to stay alive. I fed the gossip that you were long dead so I could keep searching for you without interference.”

“But why? What happened?”

He smirked again but this time there wasn’t any joy in his eyes. “ You wouldn’t leave without me.” 

Hermione knew that to be true the moment he said it. “I wouldn’t leave you because I love you.”

He sat on a teacher's desk that had long been abandoned and pushed a lock of white-blond hair out of his face, deep in concentrated thought. A few minutes of silence passed before he spoke again.

“ I can get us both out. Give me three days. I’ll send you a signal so you’ll know it's me.” He said finally.

“How will I know?”

“The less you know the better, in case something goes wrong. Just, trust me, Hermione.” He reached out for her hand and she took tentatively.

“You called me Hermione,” she said after another moment of silence.

“It’s a bad habit I have sometimes.” He mumbled, leaning up to kiss her.

Then somewhere in the castle, a bell chimed.

“Midnight!” Hermione pushed him away and took her off at a full sprint. She knew the castle now, her feet slammed over the well-worn paver stones, up the flight of stairs losing a shoe in the process, down a corridor and out on the grounds where she saw the frozen whomping willow. Hiking up the gown she pushed her legs harder than she ever imagined possible as her lungs screamed for air. There had been ten chimes when she reached the knot, and eleven when the magic grabbed a hold of her and she was back in her dark bedroom. 

She ripped off the dress and though it broke her heart, set it alight with her wand, but carefully hid the other heel under her mattress. In case this was all a dream, in case Draco never came for her.

3 days later she got the owl post, as she always did, wondering if she would have to scour the pages for her signal.

The headline screamed it for her. 

** _“Malfoy heir has gone missing. Lucius Malfoy leading searches in London. “ _ ** Below it was a picture of Lucius leading a team of the Death Eaters into a large manor house and white lights flashed around the black and white photo.

She gasped and dropped the paper, sheer panic grabbing a hold of her lungs. What was she going to do now? She couldn’t leave without him, but if Lucius was ripping through homes trying to find him...there must be no clues as to where he disappeared to. Hermione clutched at her heart, feeling it breaking beneath her fingertips.

“Miss?” It was the squeaky voice of a house-elf. One she didn’t recognize, and anyway, the Greengrass house-elves never spoke to her. He had large green eyes and worn a mismatched assortment of child-size clothes.

“Yes,” she spoke hardly daring to believe this was reality.

He held out her tiny hand. “I am to take you to Master Draco. He says to tell you “ the nightmare is over, you can wake up now.” Please, come with me.” 

From overhead, she heard the huge front doors being blasted off the hinges and the sounds of heavy boots on the wood floor. The men were shouting to each other and the house was being ransacked within an inch of its life.

Hermione took the house elf’s hand and disappeared into the darkness. 


End file.
